Pandemic-Related Legal Battles Changing How We Work in Greater Washington and Beyond

Labor, Employment and Benefits attorney Timothy Taylor spoke with the Washington Business Journal about trends in pandemic-related employment litigation. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed since the onset of COVID-19; some have failed, others have changed the way employers and employees operate, and still others are pending in the courts. Mr. Taylor said one concern from employers that never came to fruition was a rush of lawsuits from employees or customers who contracted COVID after being in the office. Given the difficulty in proving how and where one got the virus, it remains unlikely that these suits will ever gain traction in court. On the other hand, lawsuits seeking religious exemptions for lockdowns were more successful, especially before the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Their point, typically, was that religious groups were being singled out for harsher restrictions on the thinnest of distinctions: If stores and theaters can operate freely, why can't my church?" he explained.

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